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This Friday, Jan 26th I will be speaking about living with anxiety challenges and mental health for Creative Mornings. I HATE anxiety. Hate it. But my love for stopping mental health stigma by sharing my story is stronger. I'll also talk about facing our normal, everyday anxieties.

Registration opens this Monday at 11am. They go quick so make sure you sign up ASAP.

What you read has been the last two years of my life. I was
exhausted. I craved rest. I was so tired that I was angry. Angry, because all I
wanted was for my brain to slow down and a few nights of good sleep. Now I know
why little kids get cranky when they’re tired. I kept putting off rest. I’ll rest after the holidays. I’ll rest after I move. I’ll rest after
my trip to DC and the international conference my job is hosting. Well I didn’t make it to the conference
because I came down with the flu. I was coughing the whole way back from DC to
San Francisco. Funny thing is, I
hardly ever get the flu. But the 101-degree fever, chills and body aches
knocked me out. My body hurt when I showered. I was so disappointed because I
really wanted to be at my job’s conference. I had to rest. What I had been
putting off for two years finally happened. Life, God, the Universe slowed me
down because I wouldn’t.

I was sick for nearly a week. All I did was take medication,
eat a little and just let my body fight the bug. I slept a lot. I was too
consumed with trying to get well to stress over things or think a lot. My brain
got a break.

After my body temperature returned to normal and I could
breathe out of my nose again, I felt weak. My body needed to recuperate from
fighting the flu. During my weakness I mainly slept, ate and watched a little
Hulu (which is how I got hooked on The Carrie Diaries).

As I began to regain my strength, I felt better. It was the
best I felt in two years. Because I take herbs and vitamins, I had a mild
strain of the flu. I’m grateful for it because it slowed me down. I’m thankful
it didn’t kill me, but it gave me myself back.

The stress from long-term
unemployment and losing my grandfather changed my body. I gained weight from
bad eating habits. Patches of discoloration formed on parts of my skin (doc
said I’m okay). I had dizzy spells and I couldn’t sleep. My mind felt like a
VHS tape on high-speed fast-forward. It was awful! Most of the things I listed were happening to me for the first time. It’s amazing how your body will tell you
it’s stressed the hell out.

I’m sharing this with you because let’s face it, stress can
kill you. During the ordeal I visited a therapist and went to meditations. That
helped me tremendously. Or I said no and let someone else run an errand. But
there were many times I didn’t take care of myself. I know as women we often
put ourselves last. When we don’t take care of ourselves, it only makes things
worse for us. I’m lucky that I learned my lesson from the flu, because I could
have easily learned it from a stroke.

So take care of yourselves ladies. Take a vacation,
meditate, turn of the computer, whatever you need to do. Just take care of
yourselves. And it’s okay to put yourself first. It’s okay to say, “No.” It’s
okay to say, “Damn I need a break.” Just make sure you take it.

Comments

Amen! Honestly, we dnt have an emphasis on mental health enough... stress is just as dangerous as any other bad habit/addiction (i.e drinking or acting reckless). Sometimes we need to slow down and realize that and put ourselves first.

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